


cruise

by brightclam



Series: Star Trek Secret Santa [5]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Don't copy to other sites, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Trapped In An Escape Pod
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-12 17:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19578913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightclam/pseuds/brightclam
Summary: Kira and Ezri land what they think is a cushy assignment on a luxury cruise ship. But they quickly discover it's not going to be as fun as they thought.





	cruise

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for @kiranerysismyhero on tumblr for sapphicstartrek's exchange, for the prompts kiradax hurt/comfort and trapped in an escape pod. Hope you enjoy!

\-------

Kira strides quickly through the room full of starfleet officers, head held high. People lean out from their groups to greet her and she nods back, smiling widely. Occasionally a cluster of people will draw her into a short conversation, but mostly she stays on track, crossing from one side of the room to the other.

There, standing against the wall with a flute of champagne in her hand, is her target. Ezri stands alone, separate from the chattering people around her. She’s staring pensively down at her drink, and seems unaware of Kira’s approach.

Ezri doesn’t look sad per se, but Kira can’t help but worry that her friend is unhappy. It seems strange that she would be unhappy when they’ve landed such a cushy assignment: they’d been ordered to join a group of starfleet diplomats who are meeting on one of the galaxy’s high class cruise ships. They’re representing Captain Sisko, but in the meantime they also get to enjoy all the perks a luxury cruise has to offer. Which makes it even stranger that Ezri would be hiding in a corner, looking forlorn.

Kira, being a good friend, is heading her way hoping there is something she can do to help her with whatever is wrong. She hasn’t known Ezri that long, and it had taken her some time to get over the strange feeling of Ezri being both Jadzia and not Jadzia, but she now counts Ezri as one of her closest friends. 

If she’s honest with herself, maybe she wants to be something more than friends. She had loved Jadzia, but they had both agreed to remain friends rather than lovers. Now she’s falling for Ezri just as hard as she has for Jadzia. It’s a strange, complicated feeling. Ezri is a completely different person than Jadzia. Kira doesn’t love her because she’s Dax, she loves her because she’s Ezri.

However, Kira hasn’t worked up the courage to talk to Ezri about it yet. She knows that no matter what they will still be friends, but it’s still difficult to talk about her feelings. Still, it needs to be done, and she was thinking this trip might be the perfect time. 

Now, however, is not the time to think about her feelings. Now is the time to try to figure out what’s making Ezri upset and hopefully change it so she’ll feel better.

Ezri remains oblivious to her as she steps into the corner she’s chosen to hide in. Kira nervously tugs on the hem of her suit jacket before speaking:

“Hey Ezri.”

Ezri startles, champagne sloshing in her glass, looking up at Kira with her blue eyes wide and her delicate lips forming a surprised “o”. She’s beautiful, but Kira pushes that thought down and stays focused on the task at hand. Ezri stutters out:

“Hey Nerys! Sorry, I didn’t notice you there.”

Kira smiles at her, a gentle, genuine smile, not the polite smile she smiled at the diplomats earlier. Ezri brings genuine emotions out of her, and that’s part of why she loves her. Kira feels more like her true self when she’s around Ezri. Kira responds:

“That’s alright, sorry to startle you.”

Ezri laughs, a delicate tinkling noise that fills Kira’s stomach with butterflies. She loves hearing Ezri laugh, and would like to hear it more often. Then Ezri continues:

“Oh, that’s not your fault. I was spacing out.”

Kira smiles comfortingly at her and takes a step closer, so they’re less likely to be overheard as she asks:

“I noticed. Are you okay?”

Ezri sighs, that pensive look coming back into her eyes, and drops her head. She brushes her bangs back before looking back up at Kira, eyes intent.

“Yeah, I’m alright.”

She’s silent for a long moment, but Kira doesn’t push. If she want to talk, she’ll talk. It’s best to let her talk on her own time, rather than try to force it. Finally Ezri continues:

“I’m just not a big fan of this whole socializing thing.”

She waves the hand not holding her glass at the room full of starfleet officers and ambassadors. Kira nods, understanding completely. It had taken her years to be comfortable with speaking with starfleet officers so above her in rank, mostly because she has felt like she wasn’t worthy of her commission. It’s quite a jump, being a freedom fighting bajoran terrorist one day and a starfleet first officer the next.

But she has worked on what made her feel so unworthy, and slowly it had gotten easier. Hopefully, Ezri can do the same. So Kira asks:

“Why does it bother you?”

Ezri hesitates, her arms coming up and crossing across her chest in defensive body language. But she still speaks:

“A lot of these people knew Jadzia, and when I talk to them they don’t quite know how to treat me. It’s awkward for everyone involved, so I’d rather just stay here and avoid the hassle.”

Kira nods; it makes sense. Not everyone was as quick to accept Ezri as Captain Sisko. For people who aren’t used to Trills, it can be very confusing. Unfortunately, Ezri often takes the brunt of the confusion. And even though they’ve talked about how Ezri is still her own person, Kira knows she still sometimes feels like she’s just a replacement.

“I understand. Would it help if we got out of here? We’re supposed to be coming up on the Flora nebula. It’s famous for its beauty. We can go to the observation deck if you want?”

Finally, Ezri smiles. She step closer to Kira, interlocking their arms.

“I’d love to.”

Kira matches her smile and leads the way.

——————

Ezri carefully matches her shorter stride to Kira’s longer one, their interconnected arms bobbing with the movement. The affectionate contact make her feel overheated and she has to fight down a blush. Being around Kira still feels intoxicating. The other woman is other worldly beautiful and she carries herself with a warlike grace that makes Ezri want to turn into a stuttering mess. It had taken some getting used to once they became friends, not to be completely overwhelmed around her.

She sighs slightly, thinking about it. She loves being friends with Kira, but she can’t ignore that her feelings have begun to change. She finds herself watching the other woman, thinking about how it would feel to kiss her red painted lips, or run a hand through her short cropped hair. The direction her thoughts have taken makes her flush and she almost trips over her own feet. Kira looks at her, eyebrows upturned slightly with concern, and asks:

“You good?”

Ezri chuckles nervously, feeling her cheeks burn.

“Yeah, just got distracted for a minute.”

Kira nods, but before she can respond, they’ve reached a door. It slides open before them and Kira courteously gestures for Ezri to go first. Ezri reluctantly lets go of Kira’s arm in order to make it through the door. The room opens up into the swell of the massive observation deck and Ezri gasps; the space around them is painted in swirls of blue, purple and fuschia. The colors swirl together in intricate patterns, far more complex than any nebula she’s ever seen before. The Flora nebula definitely lives up to the hype. She whispers:

“Wow.”

Kira turns back to her, smiling, and responds:

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it.”

Ezri nods, unable to tear her eyes away.

“It is. I feel like I could look at it forever.”

Kira laughs and steps back towards Ezri, grabbing her shoulders and steering her towards one of the many comfortable looking couches scattered around the deck. Ezri lets herself be pushed down and sinks into the soft embrace of the sofa, still looking at the nebula splayed out in front of them. A few stars shine through the nebula, studding it with glittering swatches. They sit in silence for a few minutes, until Kira breaks it:

“Ezri?”

Ezri finally pulls her eyes away to respond curiously:

“Yes?”

Kira hesitates for a long moment before asking:

“Can I hold your hand?”

Ezri startles at that, feeling her heart begin to beat faster, thundering in her ears. She pushes down the swell of desire, reminding herself that friends hold hands all the time. Once she’s gotten herself under control she responds:

“Of course!”

Then she waits for Kira to make the first move, not wanting to seem overeager, even though her skin tingles with anticipation. Slowly, delicately, Kira’s fingers inch over to entangle with Ezri’s. Once their hands are intertwined, Ezri squeezes gently, pressing their palms together. She has to wonder if her palms are sweaty because she’s nervous. If they are, Kira doesn’t say anything.

Kira has turned back to the nebula, content holding hands. She hadn’t thought it possible, but the light from the nebula makes her even more beautiful, playing across her cheeks and shining in her dark eyes. Ezri watches her rather than the nebula, feeling overwhelmed by all her feelings for her. She’s spend a lot of time thinking about her feelings, analyzing them over and over again. Part of it is just because she’s a habitual overthinker, but mostly she want to make sure her feelings are real. Being joined with Dax has made doubt everything about herself. She has countless feelings left over from lives that weren’t hers, including feelings for Kira. They must have come from Jadzia, so when Exri first began having feelings for Nerys, she had chalked it up to that. 

But she’s thought through it over and over again and she’s been faced with the truth: these aren’t just left over feelings from Jadzia. This is real, true love, making her feel afraid and overjoyed at the same time. When she’s around Kira, she feels like she could fly. But now she’s faced with a harder choice: what’s she going to do about it?

She remembers the agreement Kira and Jadzia had, where they remained friends and simply let their feelings die off slowly. It had been hard, but they had remained as true of friends as they had always been. She must admit it’s a tempting idea. But another part of her wants to try, wants to hope that a relationship between them could work.

Really, it all comes down to needing to talk with Kira. When should she do it? How about right now? Oh, she’s so nervous, but it needs to get done. She sighs and straightens her shoulders, trying to pull herself as upright as possible. Kira is still distracted by the nebula, so Ezri speaks:

“Nerys---”

Before she can say anything more, the cruise ship shudders, almost throwing them to the floor. Kira stumbles and Quickly jumps to her feet looking around wildly. Ezri, not quite as quick on the uptake, yells:

“What the hell was that?”

Kira throws her a quick, appraising look, checking her over for injuries before pointing out into the nebula:

“Look!”

A ship hangs there, against the colorful backdrop of the nebula. As they watch, there’s a burst of light as it fires at the cruise ship, making it rock again. They can faintly hear an explosion somewhere in the distance. 

Kira pulls Ezri up by their still interconnected hands and starts to run for the door. Ezri does her best to keep up, yelling as they go along:

“Why are they attacking us? We’re a defenseless cruise ship!”

They make it through the door a back into the hallway, which is filled with flashing lights and panicked people screaming. Kira responds, yelling to be heard over the commotion:

“My guess is pirates! We make a tempting target, and the nebula is perfect cover for an ambush!”

Ezri groans; that would be just their luck.

“Guess this cruise isn’t going to be as relaxing as I thought!”

Kira laughs before dodging around a cowering cardassian, but quickly sobers.

“I’m heading for the bridge. We need to know what’s happening, maybe we can help.”

Ezri nods, panting from running.

“Sounds like a great plan.”

Just then the ship rocks again, almost throwing them off their feet. There’s a series of explosions, each louder than the last. Ezri looks at Kira and can instantly tell from the look on her face that something is very wrong. Her hunch is confirmed a moment later when the intercom turns on and the captain’s voice booms throughout the hallway:

“Passengers, this is the captain. Our engines have been hit and our shields will soon fail. Please calmly make your way to your assigned escape pod.”

That statement hardly inspires confidence, and unsurprisingly the passengers around them only increase their panicked screaming and running. Ezri flattens herself against the wall to avoid being trampled and looks at Kira, asking:

“Nerys, what should we do?”

Kira looks grim, reaching down to unbuckle her phaser from her belt before responding:

“What the Captain said, evacuate.”

Ezri gasps, she hadn’t realized the situation was that bad yet. She feels her heart begin to beat faster and her limbs shake as the adrenaline of a combat situation begins to hit her.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Kira nods and grabs her hand, before joining the flow of people running through the corridors, dragging Ezri behind her. They’re buffeted by the sea of cruise guests, people screaming and sobbing in fear. But Kira stays impassive, shouldering bravely through the crowd. Ezri follows her, not quite as collected but still strong. 

As they run through the halls, the masses of people begin to clear slightly until finally they’re almost alone. There’s only a couple other white suited workers running around them now. Ezri tugs Kira to a stop, panting for breath.

“Where did everyone go? Where are we?”

Kira looks around, phaser at the ready, but doesn’t force Ezri back into a run. She seem content to rest as she explains:

“I went to the bottom deck of the ship, where there would be less people. This deck is where all the kitchens and laundromats are, so no one should be down here but workers.”

Ezri grins and can’t help but pull her into a hug. She stays stiff for a short, surprised moment, before melting into the embrace and hugging back. Ezri cheers:

“That was so smart.”

Kira laughs and pulls away from her, affectionately running a hand through Ezri’s hair before speaking:

“Thank you. Now we should get moving.”

Ezri nods and takes a step forward---

The world explodes in a flash of green flame and she screams, screams, screams---

\------------

Kira is holding on to Ezri’s hand, ready to start running again, when there’s a loud explosion and a horrible, piercing shriek. The hand she’s holding turns into an agonized claw, digging short fingernails into her palm. She turns to see what’s wrong, only to find that Ezri has disappeared into a cloud of white smoke. Kira shouts, fear clawing at her stomach:

“Ezri?”

There’s no response, only a low moan, and the hand in hers goes limp. Kira shouts again before plunging into the smoke, following the limp arm she’s holding back to Ezri’s torso. The woman is lying on the floor, the shoulder of her dress uniform blackened and charred, the burnt fabric sticking to thee raw redness of burnt flesh. The wall next to them flickers and sparks, slowly leaking green flame that Kira recognizes as plasma.

The conduit must have overloaded and exploded, releasing a spurt of superheated plasma that had grazed Ezri’s shoulder. The burn looks bad, but had she been any closer, she would have been dead, so Kira will take that as a victory. Ezri appears to be unconscious, which Kira is grateful for, hoping that means she isn’t aware of the intense pain she must be in. She crouches next to her friend’s unconscious body, carefully finding a pulse under her chin. It’s erratic but still strong, which is probably the best she can hope for. 

She carefully places one arm under Ezri’s shoulder and the other under the crook of her knees and then lifts. They have to get out of the cruise ship now, no time to do first aid or wait for Ezri to wake up. Kira will just have to carry her.

\---------

Kira finally makes it to the escape pod, pressing the button to open the door before stepping inside with her precious cargo. She sets Ezri down on one of the benches bolted to the wall before turning to the control console.

“Okay, let’s see what we can do with this.”

The pod is different than Bajoran or Starfleet design, but the basics are there: the control console and a small viewport in front, benches that act as both seating and bedding along the sides, and a small toilet in the back. She taps at the console and it brightens to life, bleeping welcomingly at her. 

“That’s nice and all, but where is...”

Before she can look too far, something else draws her attention. There on the main screen, is large red numbers, is a countdown. She taps on it, which opens up a screen that says:

“Countdown to takeoff.”

“Oh no. Why would they make an automatic take off? What about all the other people on board?”

Despite her frantic tapping, the pod refuses to respond. She kicks at it, yelling:

“Stupid machine!” 

Finally she gives up, realizing her engineering skills are not up to the task of rewriting the pod’s code. She turns back to Ezri, crouching at her side and peering at the wound.

“Let’s hope I’m a better nurse then I am engineer, for your sake.”  
She’s aware she’s talking to herself; but she has to do something to fill the silence. The only other sound is Ezri’s pained breathing and she can’t stand to listen to it. She crosses the escape pod to grab the first aid kit before coming back to Ezri’s side. The first thing she digs out of the kit is a hypospray for the pain. She presses it to Ezri’s neck and listens to it hiss as the medicine is administered with relief. Hopefully Ezri will stay unconscious as Kira works on the wound, but if she doesn’t, she’ll need something for the pain.

Secondly she grabs a dermal regenerator, but quickly reconsiders. The burns look like they’re bad enough to be third degree, too much for the regenerator to handle. For now, all she’s going to be able to do is basic first aid. It claws at her, to see such a gaping wound and not be able to do anything to treat it. But she knows she’s not a doctor, and she may do more damage than help if she tries anything. 

She pulls a hemostat out of the kit and leans over, carefully trying to pull the fabric back away from the wound. In the center of the wound, the fabric has fused with the damaged flesh and is almost impossible to remove. Kira leaves the worst of it alone and focuses on pulling back the tattered edges of the uniform around the wound. Then she reaches into the kit and pulls out a roll of gauze. She carefully bandages over the wound, wincing as Ezri groans in pain. Fortunately, her patient remains unconscious.

She wipes her hand off and repacks the first aid kit with what she had removed, slotting it back into it’s place at the front of the pod. As she does, there’s a rumbling and the pod’s autopilot activates as the pod disengages from the body of the cruise ship. Kira rushes over to the viewport, watching as they get further and further from the disabled cruise ship. She can see the pirate ship hovering above the helpless cruise ship, and a line of explosions along her hull. 

Then, slowly, the ships fade to tiny pinpricks and disappear. The autopilot must be taking them to a preprogrammed “safe distance”, in case the ship exploded behind them. They should still be close enough to the scene of the crime for any rescuers to find them. Kira sighs and turns back to Ezri, sitting down next to her and carding her hand through her now sweaty bangs.

“Looks like we’re going to be stuck with each other for a while...”

\------------

Ezri wakes slowly, coming back to awareness only to be punched in the stomach with a wave of pain. She can’t help but make a pained noise, and she hears someone fumbling around near her, and coming closer. She opens her eyes slightly, squinting as her eyes adjust to the light. Through the pain and the dizziness she recognizes Kira, looking at her with concern. She tries to sit up but quickly finds that makes the pain worse, so she returns to lying down. She groans:

“What happened?”

Kira dabs at her sweaty forehead with a soft cloth and responds:

“Plasma conduit exploded and you were a little too close. I carried you to the pod and we’ve taken off. I don’t know if the pirates are pursuing us or when we can expect rescue. I did my best to treat your shoulder, but I wouldn’t move around too much if I were you.”

Ezri laughs, exclaiming ruefully:

“Yes, I figured that out.”

Kira leans over, bracing her hands under Ezri’s shoulders.

“Here, I’ll help you up.”

Ezri puffs out a breath, bracing for the pain, and strains to make it up to a sitting position. She makes it, but only because of Kira’s help. She can feel the other woman’s hand on her shoulders, carefully but strongly bearing her up. She wrinkles up her nose and gasps out:

“Ow.”

Kira laughs, that rough, throaty chuckle that Ezri feels like she could listen to forever. She suddenly notices how close together they’re sitting, with Kira almost in her lap, and blushes.

“Thank you, Nerys.”

Kira smiles, a tiny upturn of her lips, but her eyes are sad. She looks like she could break into tears right there. When she speaks, her voice breaks:

“Anything for you, Ezri. Anything.”

It takes Ezri’s breath away. She no longer feels like they’re talking about the simple act of helping he sit up. Instead the word feel like a sort of confession. It makes her stomach do somersaults and her throat choke up. All of her feelings seem to come bubbling up all of a sudden.

She can’t look away from Nerys’s lips: their beautiful shape, the way they stretch as Nerys smiles. They’re slightly chapped and they’re a soft pink rather than their usual red; her lipstick has worn off and she hasn’t refreshed it. She can’t stop herself from thinking what it would be like to kiss her right there and then. The want swirls in her stomach and she can feel her cheeks warm as she blushes harder.

Kira’s hand suddenly slides down from her shoulders down to grasp her hands, intertwining their fingers. Then, slowly, agonizingly slowly, she leans in. Ezri watches her approach, feeling her heart beat faster. Maybe her friend is just leaning in for a hug but what if…?

Kira is close enough now that they bump noses, and she stops for a moment like that, with their noses and foreheads pressed together, and just breathes. Ezri feels so overwhelmed and so happy that she has to close her eyes. Finally their lips meet in a soft but passionate kiss. Ezri lets go of one of Kira’s hands to bury her fingers in Kira’s short hair, just as she had imagined. It’s perfect, despite the slight chap of their lips and the pain in her shoulder.

Finally Kira pulls away and Ezri waits a moment, eyes closed, just collecting herself. Then she opens them to see Kira smiling at her, as bright as a sun. Suddenly all the love she’s been holding back explodes out and she blurts out:

“Nerys, I love you!”

Kira blinks for a long moment, her face perfectly surprised, but she responds:

“I love you too, Ezri!”

Ezri can’t hold back a giggle:

“Really?”

Kira laughs and nods:

“Yes, really!”

Ezri throws her head back and just laughs, a relieved, overjoyed noise. The movement jars her wound and she cuts off with a cough as the pain hits again. Nerys’s smile drops and she looks concerned.

“You okay?”

Ezri nods:

“Yeah, yeah, just...”

Kira cocks her head, a curious, bird like moment.

“What?”

Erzi scoots over on the bench, making a space next to her, and gestures with her good arm.

“Would you sit with me?”

Nerys huffs out a sigh, rolling her shoulders before taking the offered seat. She settles in, pressing her side up against Ezri’s in a line of warmth. Ezri lets out a deep breath and melts into her. Kira curls her arm around Ezri’s shoulders, carefully avoiding the burn. Ezri lets her head fall onto Kira’s shoulder and cuddles as close as possible. They curl into each other, seeking comfort after the adrenaline and fear of the past few hours.

Ezri sits in a happy silence, feeling her body grow heavy. Slowly she drifts off to sleep, still leaning against Kira. Nerys smiles down at her once she realizes she’s asleep, and stays very still so as not to wake her up.

\----------

Ezri wakes slowly, coming partially back to consciousness. She groans and rubs at her eyes, the world still feeling fuzzy. Then she sniffs, a faint but pleasant smell winding it’s way to her nose. Unmistakably, it’s the smell of tarkalen tea, and that’s what’s finally wakes her all the way up. She opens her eyes and a face swims into view, instantly recognizable as Kira Nerys. Her lips are back to their painted red and her earring sways hypnotically, shining in the starlight coming in the viewport.

Ezri grins up at her and comments:

“What a sight to wake up to.”

Nerys smiles at her, a faint blush coming to her cheeks, and reaches down to bury her hand in Ezri’s hair. Ezri closes her eyes, relaxing into the brush of her fingers through her hair, caressing the curve of her head. Suddenly the tea scent intensifies and Ezri’s eyes pop open to see a mug held close to her face. Nerys grins knowingly:

“I brought you tea.”

Ezri grabs the cup with both hands and throws back a large gulp of the hot tea, closing her eyes in enjoyment. When she opens them again, Nerys has taking a seat on the bench next to her. She smiles at her and asks:

“You know I love you, right?”

Kira laughs and teases:

“Do you mean that or is it just because of the tea?”

Ezri giggles and punches her on the shoulder, gently.

“You know what I mean.”

Kira nods and leans in for a quick kiss, smiling into Ezri’s lips before responding:

“I love you too, Ezri.”

Ezri sighs happily and reaches down to intertwine their fingers before asking:

“So, how many days have we been adrift?”

Nerys reaches over to her bag and pulls out a piece of paper, which is marked with tallymarks.

“This will be the fifth day.”

Ezri groans, looking over the confining escape pod that has become their home.

“Well, at least we’ve had lots of time for bonding.”

Nerys laughs at that before responding:

“As much as I enjoy our time together, I think I’m ready to be rescued.”

Ezri frowns, fear starting to creep into the happiness she’s feeling.

“We are still sure rescue is coming?”

Just then there’s a crackling from the control console at the front of the pod. They both jump up and run to it, just in time to hear Sisko’s voice:

“Escape pod, this is Sisko of the Defiant. Would you like to come aboard?”

Nerys quickly hits the button on the panel and responds:

“Sir, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice.”

“Same to you, Kira. We’re taking the escape pod into the defiant’s bay. You may leave whenever you’re ready.”

\--------

Ezri sighs in relief as she enters her quarters, dropping her bag on the couch. Nerys follows her in the door, adding her bag to the pile. Ezri heads towards her bedroom and its closet full of fresh clothes, speaking over her shoulder:

“I can’t wait to change out of this uniform, I feel so icky. Do you want me to grab you some clothes too?”

Nerys’s response filters through the open door of the bedroom as Ezri digs through her closet.

“Yes, whatever you have will be fine.”

Ezri pulls out a starfleet standard uniform for herself and a soft T shirt and pair of shorts for Nerys. Then she heads back out to the living room where Nerys waits for her. She hands over the outfit to Nerys and then hesitates, unsure of how to proceed. Nerys seems equally uncertain until she finally looks up to meet Ezri’s eyes and asks:

“Is it okay if I just change here?”

Ezri starts and stutters for a moment, but there’s no reason to be uncomfortable, so she responds:

“Sure.”

Ezri starts to undo her dirty and torn dress uniform, pulling off the jacket and letting it fall to the floor. Nerys is doing the same and Ezri can’t help but watch her delicate fingers as they undo the buttons of her dress shirt. There’s a growing sliver of skin revealed, the curve of Nerys’s chest poking out from the white shirt. Suddenly Ezri feels like she could cry, overwhelmed by how beautiful Nerys is, and that Nerys is willing to share that beauty with her.

Then the shirt is off and Ezri traces the soft swell of her breasts with her eyes. Strangely enough, it feels perfectly natural to be like this, despite the vulnerability of nakedness. Nerys turns to pick up the shirt she’s changing into, stretching to pull it over her head. Ezri watches the play of muscles in her back until they disappear under the fabric. 

Then she remembers that she’s supposed to be changing and returns to her purpose, pulling her undershirt over her head. The air of her quarters is cool against her naked chest, and she can see Nerys studying her the way she was just watching her.She doesn’t feel embarrassed the way she expected to, just feels safe and content with Nerys looking at her. She drops her pants as well, leaving her in just her underwear. She smirks at the appreciation on Nerys’s face before pulling on her clean uniform.

Nerys unbuckles her belt and slips her pants off as well, stopping for a moment and turning to face Ezri so she can see her reaction. Her bottom half is just as beautiful as her top halr, with the gentle curve of her hips and the delicate hair on her thighs. Then Nerys pulls on the short and the spell Ezri’s under breaks. She laughs at herself before speaking quietly:

“You’re beautiful, you know.”

Nerys smiles and walks over to Ezri, cupping her face with a hand before pulling her into a kiss. Then she pulls away and responds:

“You are too, my love.”

Ezri giggles, lovestruck, and gestures to the bedroom.

“Shall we lay down? I’m exhausted.”

Nerys nods and intertwines their hands, pulling Ezri towards the bedroom. One inside Ezri collapses onto the bed, burying her face in her favorite pillow. Nerys lies down next to her and Ezri flops on top of her, wrapping her arms around her. Nerys laughs and presses a kiss to Ezri’s forehead.

“Go to sleep, love.”

Ezri nods and curls closer before drifting off, happy in her lover’s arms.

\---------


End file.
